Barcelona/Rome 2012
The nifty high-speed trains in Italy got us to Naples (Napoli) in an hour and ten minutes! Break for lunch at a random little deli a block from Plaza Garabaldi, then we threaded our way through Naples' confusing central train station (who knew they'd have three separate sets of tracks?). Had our first encounter with gypsies begging with a fake baby, too.
The ruins of Pompeii (Pompei) are well preserved after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79, and archaeologists have uncovered most of the city as of 2012. After 5 straight days of impressive sights, it took a while for Pompei to sink in for me. It finally did, though, once you start appreciating than an entire city was abruptly buried more than 1,900 years ago; 20,000 people had their lives come to an abrupt end, and a startlingly clear picture of ancient Roman life emerges as you walk among the ruins.
Two baths, noble houses, poor houses, markets, the first Roman ampitheater built out of stone, even modern studies of the vineyards...
We made it back to Naples afterwards, had dinner at another tourist trap where the waiters weren't shy with their recommendations ("NO! Order this instead!"), then back on the train to Rome. 265km/h (165mph) trains are kind of nice! And being the one time we were at Roma Termini unencumbered by luggage, we took the time to walk around the outside and snack on some gelato. Mmmmm...